


6 HOURS LEFT7:50 a.m. After marking a few brushpile waypoints on his graph, LeHew moves toward Lake Xâs northern shore and flips two docks with the jig. 7:57 a.m. LeHew ties on a citrus shad Berkley Dredger 8.5 crankbait, casts it to a seawall and bags an 11-inch largemouth.

5 HOURS LEFT8:50 a.m. LeHew moves farther uplake to a submerged rockpile. He hits it with the 14.5 and the 10-inch worm but hauls water. 9:04 a.m. The sun is trying to pop out as LeHew idles around in open water, looking for sunken cover.





3 HOURS LEFT10:50 a.m. Rather than retrieving the crankbait nonstop, LeHew is reeling it down to the bottom, then moving it slowly with short pulls of the rod interspersed with slow turns of the reel handle. âTheyâre really inactive, so Iâm literally feeling the plug along the bottom, then pausing once it contacts cover.â A fish taps the lure but doesnât hook up. 11:01 a.m. LeHew pauses to rig a black Bottom Hopper 6.25 finesse worm on a 1/8-ounce shaky head jig (both by Berkley). âThis is a deadly combination for probing scattered brush, laydowns, stumps and rocks.â

2 HOURS LEFT12:01 p.m. LeHew is back on the brushpile where he lost a good fish earlier. He hits it first with the 14.5, then with the shaky head worm. âIâm seeing a couple fish in that brush on my LiveScope.â 12:14 p.m. LeHew pitches the spoon to the brushpile. âYou want to let the spoon flutter down on a semi-tight line, then pop it with your rod the instant you feel it hit the cover. If you let it sink down into the brush too far, youâll hang up every time.â 12:17 p.m. He drops the Roboworm straight down into the brushpile and shakes it. No takers. 12:19 p.m. LeHew hangs the Roboworm in the brush, breaks it off and drops the shaky head worm into the cover. 12:23 p.m. LeHew moves to another brushpile and crawls/hops/shakes the jig through the gnarly branches. 12:31 p.m. LeHew moves to a nearby rounded point with a seawall and tries the shaky head worm.



1 HOUR LEFTâ¨12:51 p.m. LeHew casts the Bottom Hopper to a small brushpile in a shoreline pocket and bags his third keeper, 1 pound, 12 ounces.



THE DAY IN PERSPECTIVEâ¨âEven though itâs September, most of the fish in this lake are still in a midsummer mode, and last nightâs lightning storm definitely had them spooked,â LeHew told Bassmaster. âI spent a lot of time up shallow throwing topwaters and fishing docks. If I were to fish here tomorrow, Iâd spend a lot more time idling around and marking brushpiles; thatâs where the best quality fish appear to be right now.â
WHERE AND WHEN LEHEW CAUGHT HIS KEEPER BASS
1. 2 pounds, 7 ounces; 1/2-ounce E.R. Lures jig (Jasonâs magic color) with green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw trailer; laydown on channel bank; 9:52 a.m.
2. 3 pounds, 4 ounces; black Berkley Bottom Hopper 6.25 worm on 1/8-ounce Berkley shaky head; offshore brushpile; 12:35 p.m.
3. 1 pound, 12 ounces; same lure as No. 2; brushpile in shoreline pocket; 12:51 p.m.
4. 4 pounds, 14 ounces; same lure as No. 2 in green pumpkin; offshore brushpile; 1:36 p.m.
TOTAL: 12 POUNDS, 5 OUNCES